


It Must Be (A) Love (Potion)

by QuirkQuartz



Series: It Must Be (A) Love (Potion) [2]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kiss Consent, Love Confessions, Lumity, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Luz is NOT oblivious?, Panic, Romance, soft girls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuirkQuartz/pseuds/QuirkQuartz
Summary: When Luz receives a confession from Amity, she suspects that Amity must have been influenced by a Love Potion - Because people do not like Luz Noceda like this
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Series: It Must Be (A) Love (Potion) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958326
Comments: 171
Kudos: 1037





	1. It Must Be A Love Potion

There were dozens of things that never happened for Luz back on Earth. And a lot of them were very… Unpleasant to think about. Which was why Luz tended _ not  _ to think about them whenever she could help it. 

One of those things was the fact that she never really had friends back home - All her antics, obsessions with her fantasy books, games and her attempts to spice up whatever classes she found herself in had rendered her something of an outcast there. She never got invited to sit with people at lunch. She never got invited to parties. She wasn’t ever even asked if she wanted to hang out - All the normal things that one would expect someone her age to be doing. But it just never happened for her. 

And it didn’t bother her all that much. 

Well… It kind of did, a little bit. No one liked being left out. But it just seemed to be how things were, how they were going to be. Not unless she forced herself to change, and give up all the things that she enjoyed - And Luz wasn’t prepared to do that. She just didn’t gel well with other people back home, it seemed. And she’d made peace with that, and she’d learned to deal with it in her own way - Mostly by throwing herself into whatever kind of fantasy she could get her hands on. She got so much reading and writing and drawing done, so it sort of worked out in the end? 

Hey, she was the one who could write an entire fantasy epic in an afternoon - Which she had done a few times at this point! Mostly in fanfiction, granted, but still! That was a win in her book!

But the Boiling Isles had changed all of that. The people she had gotten to meet, the friends she had made, the time they all got to spend together - All while she got to learn to be a Witch?

It was like… Everything that she had ever wanted, just thrown at her, through being possibly the luckiest Human being in existence! Mystery, adventure, magic, drama, friends who didn’t ask her to change in the slightest for them, but even seemed to embrace her antics at times! It was like a dream! And she tried to make the most of that every day she was here, not wanting to waste a second of it!

How different things would be, how lonely she would be if she was still on Earth, at camp, surrounded by people who just… Didn’t get it? She thought about it a lot - How much this place meant to her. The Owl House, the Boiling Isles. Eda. King. Willow and Gus. 

Amity. 

Just how lucky she was to be here. How she wouldn’t trade this place for anything. How this place had changed her life. How she felt at home here. Somehow more at home here than she ever did back on Earth - Not counting her Mamá, of course, but even then, it felt like she didn't always understand her either. She felt accepted here, without any qualifiers. That there were people here who liked her, all her weirdness notwithstanding. 

_ Everything  _ was different here. 

Luz hummed to herself as she glanced around the forest, these thoughts bouncing around in her brain. A palm-squirrel watched her almost skip down the path she walked, and she watched as it balled it’s weirdly-Human-looking-hand-for-a-head into a fist as she walked underneath its branch, and then opened back up once she was at the other side. The wildlife of the Boiling Isles was like something out of a series on cosmic horror, but somehow Luz had become accustomed to a lot of it. She smiled at the palm-squirrel as she walked away from it, before returning her sight to the path. It wasn’t unusual to see one of those critters here. 

What she was doing here was a bit more unusual though. But that filled her with a bundle of excitement. 

Normally it was  _ her _ asking Amity to hang out, not the other way around. 

Last night though, while the two girls spoke over their Crystal Balls, Amity had asked Luz to meet her in the forest the next day. She had mentioned about it being important, and that she was hoping that the pair of them could hang out. 

Historically, of the two of them, it was overwhelmingly Luz that asked Amity if she wanted to hang out. That had been changing in the last month or so. They had actually ended up spending a lot of time together ever since Amity’s leg had healed from their grudgby match against Boscha. They would meet up to talk about Azura, or other books they found. Sometimes Amity would ask questions about the Human Realm, and Luz would tell her about it - Amity had even gone out of her way to help Luz study when she struggled with learning the basics of Abomination Magic. It was because of her that Luz had been able to not only learn the Glyphs for Abomination Magic, but could also now summon an Abomination that didn’t  _ immediately  _ try to attack her. 

The pair of them had grown closer. 

A lot closer. 

Just thinking about that made Luz smile. And motivated her to pick up the pace just a little bit. 

She saw her destination a lot sooner than she ended up actually arriving there. Even if it wasn’t visually distinctive - It was a giant tree that had bright pink leaves, and towered above the rest of the trees that surrounded it - Luz still would have been able to identify it from a mile away; It was the sight that she and Amity had defeated Grometheus together during Grom.

Its size, how it towered over the other trees, and the contrast of the dark greens of its surroundings against its pink and cherry colours meant that Luz saw it about ten minutes before she got close to it. Like walking to a wind turbine back on Earth. All the while, she had focused on it, remembering the day it sprouted, and the days since then. 

So much had changed since then. 

Luz approached the base of the tree, and just stared at it for a few seconds. It really was enormous. It’s size in relation to her, both in height and width, was slightly staggering and almost intimidating, now that she wasn’t high on adrenaline and could appreciate its sheer scale. A small part of her couldn’t help but feel a pang of pride at it though, as she placed her palm against the wood - It had been her and Amity that had made this thing. A combination of their Magic. She was responsible for this new landmark of the Boiling Isles, at least in part. 

A small grin appeared on her face as she thought about that. Then she took a glance around, and took her hand back. “Alright, where are you, Amity?” She asked, mostly talking to herself. 

Punctual as she was, Luz found it difficult to believe that Amity was the one running late here. Amity was always on time. The tree  _ was  _ big enough that it could obscure a person. Maybe she was on the other side? Luz opted to check. 

Sure enough, there she was. 

Leaning against the base of the tree and sat down, Amity was looking over the cliff and out at the ocean. She was wearing the outfit she always seemed to wear when neither of them had classes that day, and there was a flask next to her. There was an expression on her face that told Luz she was concentrating. Focused. She didn’t even seem to realise that Luz was there. Either there was something very interesting out in the middle of the ocean - There wasn’t, at least not anything Luz could see - or she had something on her mind. 

It wasn’t an expression Luz had grown unaccustomed to seeing over the last couple of months. But it was one she found hard to look away from all the same. Luz just kind of… Stopped to watch it for a moment, against her brain telling her that she should probably announce her presence. 

From the flask she had with her - A very un-unique, bland looking one - Amity took a drink from it, before sighing and placing it next to her. Almost immediately it fell over with an empty echo, and rolled away from her, and towards Luz, who watched it roll until it collided with her foot. She knelt down, picked it up, and stood back up. 

Already, Amity had gotten onto her feet. “L - Luz! You’re here!” 

“Hey.” Luz smiled, holding the flask out for Amity to take. “Don’t worry, I caught your escapee-cup! He’s not going anywhere anytime soon!” 

“Th - Thanks.” Amity took the flask and quickly shoved it into her bag. She did so with what felt like a bit of awkwardness, but she took a deep breath afterwards and sighed. “Sorry, about that.” 

“S’no big deal!” Once more, Luz grinned. “Sorry I’m a little late. I was doing, er…. Owl House things.” 

“...What happened this time?” 

“Well, it involves Hooty, King, and breakfast - “ 

“Chaos. Got it.” Amity nodded, already with a mental image in her head that Luz knew probably wasn’t all that inaccurate. She spoke with a hint of amusement, and another load of bewilderment at how the Owl House was even still standing, and not perpetually on fire. 

Luz shrugged, awkwardly. “Yeeeeah, Eda wasn’t too happy with the mess… Or the uprising.” 

“I’m… Not even going to ask.” Amity shook her head, a smile visible. “I’m genuinely amazed that you can turn breakfast into an entire escapade.” 

“Hey, for once I had nothing to do with it!” A pause. “...Mostly! K - Kind of!” 

That made Amity just laugh. And that in turn made Luz smile. 

This was how their relationship had developed over the last few months. Conversation just became easier and easier between the two of them, until they could fill an entire day by talking about essentially nothing at all if they wanted to. Sometimes they would. And sometimes they would talk about their books. Other times they would end up wandering around Bonesborough, or around the Isles generally. 

It hadn’t always just been studying together, or just spending time together either - They had gotten into their fair share of trouble too. Usually when they trained together, practicing Magic, or even engaging in light duelling matches with one another. They often did that well away from the town so they wouldn’t be interrupted, or give anyone the wrong idea. There were plenty of demons and monsters that inhabited the Boiling Isles that had them on their menus, and the number of times they had gotten into those fights had to be in the dozens now. Going through all of that together, it was impossible for them not to become close. 

...And it had become more than that for Luz. Much more. 

Over the last few months, Luz had learned so much about herself, about her friends, and what all the relationships that they had with one another meant to her. How Willow and Gus were her closest friends in either the Human Realm or on the Boiling Isles, and how she’d be willing to go put herself through hell and back if they needed her help. How Eda and King had become not almost like, but  _ were  _ a second family to her. How Amity… 

...Amity was different.  _ Really  _ different. 

After such a rough start, it had been hard to predict that they were going to be anything but rivals, or at the best, passing acquaintances. But they were friends now, and all the drama of their past was just that - In the past. Amity had even managed to fully patch things up with Willow, or at least they were about as patched up as they were going to reasonably get. So there was nothing stopping them from being as close as they were now. 

The closer they got, the more Luz noticed about Amity too. Amity wore a lot of the talents that she had on her sleeve - She was smart, and incredibly skilled at Magic. Moreso than anyone else Luz knew at Hexside. But to learn what she was like underneath all of that, it took a while, to coax her out of the shell she had built up around herself. Underneath it was a softness that it was hard to describe as anything other than pure Amity. 

Just as much of a nerd as Luz herself was. Just as capable of being kind and gentle to the people around her. She was driven to do the right thing - She had practically thrown away her reputation at Hexside to do that, and that was still one of the coolest things Luz had ever seen her do. She still dipped into sarcasm and her fairly blunt way of talking from time to time, but there was no edge to it anymore, not like there used to be. It was hard to explain, but once all those walls she had built up around her were gone, Amity was one of the kindest people Luz had met. 

How she had changed from the person she was when they first met into who she was now… It was hard not to admire it. 

When she learned that she wasn’t going to be able to return to the Human world, at least not for a while, Amity had gone out of her way to look out for Luz. to check in on her whenever a spiral of homesickness hit her. Offering to be there. Offering to teach her a new spell. Offering her whatever she needed to take her mind off things, and listen to her and comfort her whenever that was what she needed instead. It was that sort of thing, Luz learned, that really defined the sort of person Amity was. 

It all went straight to her heart. 

And it had been around that time that being around Amity made Luz feel… The best word was giddy. Excited. But also nervous at the same time. All at once. That made her both want to be around Amity all the time, and be as far away from her as possible. 

Luz wasn’t unaware enough to not know what she felt at any given time. This wasn’t the first time she’d felt like this about someone. She’d felt like this on Earth a few times… 

She liked Amity.  _ Really _ liked Amity. And there was that small part of her that held onto the hope that maybe...

Quickly, she shook her head, before Amity looked back at her, thankfully. She could have just listened to Amity laugh all day, but she could feel her heart beating. She needed to change the subject. “Sooo, er, you mentioned yesterday that there was something you wanted to talk about? You said it was kinda important, so…” 

Amity’s laughing stopped fairly abruptly at that point, and she kind of froze for a moment, like she’d already forgotten why the pair of them were even here and had just been reminded. She blinked, and looked up at Luz. 

Her face was red. 

“Um… R-Right. Er, quite important, yes.” 

She was nervous. Noticeably so. Amity didn’t do nervous. Certainly not like this. The only time Luz remembered anything close was…

“...What’s it about?” 

“...Grom.” 

Immediately, Luz’s heart  _ sank.  _

_ There it was.  _

“Do… Do you remember offering me help after that?” 

Putting on the air of being enthusiastic almost felt like a physical blow to Luz, but she put on the best face she could. “Yeah?” 

“...I uh… I could use your help now. I-If you’re willing.” 

This was always going to happen. 

And Luz knew that it was always going to happen, but a part of her truly, truly wished that it wouldn’t. Weirder things had happened on the Boiling Isles to her, and she had let herself hope, just a little, that luck would be on her side here. 

But no such luck. 

Guilt hit her. To even think like that was selfish. It wasn’t ever going to happen and Luz knew that perfectly well.  _ People didn’t like Luz Noceda _ . That was something she learned a long time ago. She knew that, but she had hoped...

Amity had had someone who she wanted to go to Grom with all the way back then, and Luz had known that. After Grom, she had even told Amity that if she ever decided that she needed help, she would absolutely be there to help her if she wanted it, and Amity had nodded, and thanked her for the offer. 

And now she was going to make good on that offer. 

...And so was Luz. 

Because regardless of what she felt towards Amity, regardless of how much she liked Amity, no matter all of that… She couldn’t get in the way of what Amity wanted. Not like this. Not for herself. Because she knew that it had always just been a pipe dream anyway… Because she wanted Amity to be happy. 

Learning everything that she had about the other girl - The pressure she put on herself, the things she’d been forced to do, the way her parents practically dictated her life… She deserved to be with someone who made her happy. 

It wouldn’t be fair to Amity, even if she could somehow change the fabric of the universe and make Amity like her. And even if she could, Luz wouldn’t do that. Amity deserved better than that. 

She deserved whoever made her happy. 

The fact that they were even friends at all - The fact that Luz even had friends in the Boiling Isles, real friends, who she had connected with and who understood and supported her, was more than she thought she was ever going to really get. The fact she was even Amity’s friend, that they were as close as they were now, that she was willing to come to her with this… That was already a blessing. And she was so, so glad that they had that. 

And she wasn’t going to jeopardy that. Not now. And not when she already knew what the answer would be. 

Luz would be a good friend. No matter what. 

Even when it hurt to be...

. _..This was good, actually. _ Maybe now Luz could just… Drop all of this. Get it out of her head. 

All that went through her mind in just a few seconds. And just like before, she put on a front of enthusiasm as she responded. “"Psh, yeah! Of course! Absolutely! Matchmaker Luz at your service! Absolutely!” She forced through a fake laugh, hoping that Amity wouldn’t notice the difference, 

Amity for her part seemed to both smile, thankful that Luz was still willing to help after making such an offer months ago, and also get… Much more nervous. Like Luz willing to help her made it feel more real. Her face got redder, and her hands balled up into fists. 

“S-So.... Who was it? Who've I got to figure out a plan of action for?" Luz asked.

The Witch bit her lip, and looked away for a moment, trying to avoid making eye contact. Her hands reached into her bag, and from it, she pulled out a letter. Pink, and the seal was that of a heart. A love letter, Luz knew, just by looking at it. 

A sharp inhale came from Amity as she took a deep breath. Then she looked at Luz. 

And thrusted the letter towards her. 

“...You.” 

Luz blinked, as she took the letter into her hands. Briefly, she scanned over it. “...I don’t think I know anyone here called Yu, Amity. I knew a guy back on Earth who was called that, but I dunno if I know who - “ 

“N-No. Luz…” 

As she scanned over the letter, Luz flipped it over, looking for a name. Maybe the spelling would help jog her memory. 

The words she read instead made her heart stop. 

_ To Luz.  _

“...I mean  _ you. _ ” Amity said, forcing the words out from behind an expression equal parts overwhelming awkward fluster and abject horror. “Luz Noceda - The only Human on the Boiling Isles. I-I mean you...”

She took an awkward step forward. 

“....You’re the one I wanted to ask to Grom…” 

Her eyes shifted to look to the ground. 

“...You’re the person I like.” 

For a moment, Luz’s brain simply refused to work. Her jaw dropped slightly, and all she was even capable of doing was looking between the letter, and Amity. 

_ What?  _

“Wh... What?” She hadn’t even meant to say it. It just… Happened. It barely even came out as a whisper. “A...Amity, what do you…” Words were difficult to say aloud now. They felt caught in Luz’s throat. 

“I - I - You - “ Amity tripped on her own words, and shook her head, before looking away again. Part of her face was hidden by her hair, but what could be seen was crimson. “You… Luz, you’re… You’re the… You’re the closest friend I’ve… Ever had. I mean that. You kept reaching out to me when you had… Absolutely no reason to. Even when I was awful to you. And you… You made me be better. You made me want to be better.”

_...This didn’t happen to Luz. Was this seriously happening?  _

“Y… You’re not like anyone else I know. You’re so…. Honest. A-And authentic. You always wear what you’re thinking out in the open. I… I never need to guess where I stand with you. A-And I… Wish I could have been that u-up front with you about… This before, but I… I didn’t - ...Don’t, know if you even… Think about me in the same way at all, but I-I can’t keep this up.”

_ This wasn’t a thing that happened to her.  _

“I… I can’t keep pretending that I don’t feel like this around you. I… Can’t pretend that not knowing is something I can handle. I…” Amity gulped, and forced herself to look Luz in the eye. “...I like you, Luz.” 

_ This… _

“A-And I…  _ I wrote you that letter because I don’t trust myself to give you all the reasons out loud. _ ” She spoke very quickly then, so quickly that it took Luz a moment to fully register what she had said. “S-So…” 

With a look on her face that conveyed possibly more anxiety and nervousness than Luz had ever seen in a person before in her life, Amity gestured at the letter that was in Luz’s hands. And then she just… Looked at Luz. Waiting for her to read her letter. Waiting for a response. 

All the while, Luz’s heart was beating again. 

Faster and faster and faster.

_ This…  _

_ Was this…  _

_...No.  _

_ No.  _

Luz’s mind immediately went to the past, but she quickly dismissed it. Amity wouldn’t do that. She wasn’t like that. She wasn’t that cruel. Luz doubted that she ever was, and if she ever had been, then she had changed since that - She had seen it first hand! Watched it happen! That wasn’t a thing Amity would do! 

It wasn’t that! 

But then what was left? 

_ People didn’t like Luz like that. That just wasn’t a thing that happened.  _

So what - 

_ The flask. The flask!  _

“Amity what was in that flask you had?” 

To say that Amity looked completely bewildered would be an understatement. “...What the -  _ What?”  _

“The flask you had! What was in it? What did you drink before I showed up!?” 

Again, Amity just looked at Luz with an expression that was one half utterly dejected, and another part absolutely baffled. “What does that - A-Aren’t you even going to read - “ 

_ “Amity!”  _

There was a firmness to Luz’s voice that time that made Amity freeze. And Luz immediately regretted not keeping closer control over her own voice. 

When she spoke again, she made sure she spoke softer. “...Please, Amity. It’s important.” 

Still completely confused by this line of questioning, Amity’s eyebrow raised high above her eye, but still, she answered. “It… It was just water, Luz. That was all.” 

A pause. “Did - Did you ever leave it alone? Like on a table or something?” 

“I - For a bit, back home I guess - “ 

“Where?” 

“At home! Before I came here! I just left it on the kitchen counter while I found my bag! Luz, what does this - “ 

Amity’s wrist was suddenly in Luz’s hand, and before she could even register that, Amity found herself being dragged through the path that Luz had taken to get here in the first place. Luz was running - Fast. And when Luz wanted to move quickly, she was very capable of moving quickly. 

“What the - Luz!” Amity yelled when she finally registered what was happening, “What’re you doing? What’s going on?!” 

“We need to get to the Owl House! Eda’ll know how to help!” 

“Help with what?!” 

“The Love Potion!” 

“The _ what?! _ Luz what in the world are you - “ 

Luz’s speed picked up, and it cut off whatever Amity had been about to say next. 

It was a Love Potion - That had to be it! Eda had said that everything that the Human Realm commonly associated with magic came from the Boiling Isles at some point - That meant Love Potions had to exist here, right? 

That had to be what had happened to Amity here! That had to be it! 

Because Amity wasn’t cruel. And she wouldn’t joke like that. 

Luz’s mind remembered the last time this happened, back on Earth. 

_ ‘Look, you’re… Kind of weird. But you’re nice. And I like you.’ _

_ ‘A-Are you serious?’  _

_ ‘...Did you think I was?’ _

She shook her head, as though she were trying to shake those memories out of her brain. Amity wouldn’t do that. 

It must have been a Love Potion. 

_ It must have been. _

* * *

**SO I've been working on this for the last week to get a better handle on Luz's character (and also because I'm still brainstorming chapter 3 of Beautiful Cruelty) because she's kind of tricky to get a handle on, and I ended up with this - And i split it into two parts because I am physically incapable of doing oneshots - I need way too much context to manage that.**

**BUT I'm kind of happy with the direction this has ended up going - I'll go far more in depth with my thought process when the second part of this is uploaded tomorrow - The day after I move back to Uni so I'll make sure part 2 is done to tide you all over.**

**If you're interested in my of my Lumity stuff until then though - I have two other stories![I Don't Get Her](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24077788) and [Beautiful Cruelty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109724), which I'm really proud of :D I'll see you all tomorrow - See ya! **


	2. Because It's You

Figuring out what to do with these feelings was one of the single most difficult questions that Amity had ever felt herself struggle with in her entire life. Trying to keep a handle on them to not make a complete fool of herself in front of Luz. Trying to put them aside so she could focus on whatever other tasks were at hand. Trying to just make sense of it for the longest time. 

Eventually, a point had been reached in Amity’s mind - That she couldn’t keep going on like this. She couldn’t just hope that eventually, everything would just work itself out. At the absolute least, she was certain Luz wouldn’t just cut her off if she told her. . 

She hoped. 

There were a hundred different ways that Amity could have seen her confession going. 

Naturally, the outcome that she wanted was for Luz to accept her confession. That somehow, Luz saw her in a similar way that she saw her. That maybe… Something could come of it. That Amity would be able to be honest with her about how she felt, and then by some miracle, she could hear the same being said back to her. 

What she felt was more likely, and what she was afraid of happening, was Luz rejecting her. She already knew that that would hurt, more than anything she could even think she’d experienced before now. And it didn’t make sense to be afraid of it, but Amity was still afraid of being cut off from Luz because of it - That it would make Luz too uncomfortable to even be around her anymore. She wouldn’t blame L:uz for it, but…. 

...But even if that did end up being the case.... Amity didn’t think she could keep this up anymore. 

There were a dozen variations in between that too. Where Luz didn’t know what she felt but was still willing to… See what happened, or where she rejected her but remained vehemently insistent that they were still friends. One scenario involved them being involved by Gods-knew-what - Which had been why Amity had arrived a half hour before the agreed upon time - To try to ensure that there was nothing that could conceivably interrupt them. 

A scenario she did not predict was being _dragged to the Owl House while Luz yelled something about a Love Potion._

_This she hadn’t thought of._

“Edaaaaaa!” The moment the Owl House was in sight, Luz called out to her mentor, like she was hoping she’d get a response from the Owl Lady before she even stepped foot in the building. 

She did get a response though, but it wasn’t from Eda. 

“Oh heeeeeeey Luz! Ooh, company! Hooty hoot! I _loooooove_ company! This one time I -” 

“Hooty, not now!” Luz yelled at the House Demon, before all but tackling the door open to gain entry to Owl House. Were there any non-Magical locks, they would have been knocked right off the doorframe. 

The second the Human had dragged Amity into the building, she slammed the door behind her, and the muffled suns of _“Jeez, okay! Rude!”_ were heard on the other side. Amity almost felt bad for Hooty - Somehow she got the feeling Luz didn’t normally act that way around the Demon. 

“Eda!” Luz shouted into the house. 

She got no reply. 

“Eda?!” Luz poked her head through a few doors, before running to the top of the nearby staircase and shouting again. “Eda?! Eda where are you?! Amity’s been affected by a Love Potion!” 

“Luz, this is ridiculous, there isn’t even - “ Amity tried to call to Luz, but she had already darted into the corridors of the second floor of the house. She could hear Luz running from room to room above her, and her muffled yells that went unanswered. 

It was abundantly clear by this point that the house was empty. 

Quickly, Luz ran back down the steps, past Amity, and swung the front door open again. “Hooty! Where’s Eda?! Or King for that matter?!” 

“So _nooooow_ you wanna talk, hoot?” 

“Hooty, this is important! 

“Not important enough to be nice to your old pal Hooty, hoot?” 

“Hooty! This isn’t the time! Amity’s been affected by a - A potion and I need help getting her back to normal!” 

Amity protested, “I’m not - “ 

_“Vamos, estúpido demonio pájaro!”_ A panicked Luz kicked the bottom of the doorframe, which apparently translated to directly kicking Hooty. 

“Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! Jeeeez, you could have just asked nicely!” For a moment, Luz just looked like she was about to scream, but Hooty cut her off, “They went into the forests! Eda said she needed ingredients for some kind of potion she wanted to sell to people, hoot!” 

“What - Where is she _exactly_ , Hooty?!” 

“I don’t know, hoot! That’s all she told me! Nobody ever tells Hooty anything - “ 

Luz shut the door again, and leaned against it while she tried to think. There had to be something that she could do - What was she supposed to do? ‘The Forests’ wasn’t exactly a specific location - The Boiling Isles was full of them! She couldn’t just run around hoping she’d run into Eda, and she didn’t even have a Scroll! She couldn’t just get in contact with Eda either! Unless she used Amity’s, but Luz didn’t even know the first thing about how they worked, what calling another Scroll even meant, and even if she did, she didn’t know what number or whatever Eda’s Scroll was! 

So, what? Just wait until Eda came back? Under normal circumstances that might have actually been the smarter idea, and Luz recognized that… 

But given _this particular situation?..._

“Luz?” With a brief pause in all the movement and running around, Amity took the opportunity to try to get an answer to… Any of the seventeen questions she had right about now. “What… What is going on? I don’t understand why you think this is because of some…. Potion. I don’t get it.” 

Looking up at her, Luz saw her expression weaken. 

“...Aren’t you even going to look at my letter?” Amity hadn’t meant to let her expression weaken like that, but couldn’t help it. 

_...This particular situation was going to break Luz’s heart if it kept up._

She - She was going to have to try to do something! 

It had to be a Love Potion - So maybe a potion would be able to help snap Amity out of it!

“C-Come here.” Luz told Amity, making her way quickly towards the closest thing in this house she could call a kitchen counter, where Eda stored all of her potion brewing equipment. 

After a few months at Hexside, Luz had learned how to brew potions - Well, some potions - At least decently well. Love Potions, if they were even gonna teach them how to brew that sort of thing at Hexside, hadn’t come up in the Potion Track yet, so Luz didn’t have even the first clue where to start. 

But Eda - Eda had books that told her how to brew pretty much anything! And those books were lining the bookcase on the other side of the room. 

A hand suddenly grabbed hers. “Luz!” 

Once more, Luz looked towards Amity. And that same expression felt like it was hitting her right in the chest. 

“...Why aren’t you even talking to me anymore?” 

Luz bit her lip. And she looked at Amity. She was panicking, and she knew she was panicking - She wanted to fix this, as soon as she could. Get Amity back to normal, so that she could stop this all from happening and this... Déjà vu could just be over. 

Love Potion or not though, the look Amity was giving her - Luz couldn’t just say nothing to it. 

She took her hand back, but she didn’t turn from Amity. Her eyes didn’t meet hers though. “I - I’m sorry. I just - I want to get you not affected by this potion, or whatever this is.” 

“Why are you so convinced it’s a Love Potion? When would I even get one of those?” 

Making her way to the bookshelf, Luz grabbed the book she always saw Eda using whenever she was brewing potions. It was about the size of her torso, and required her full strength for it to not clatter onto the floor. “I - I don’t know! Maybe Edric and Emira put it into your flask when you were looking and thought it’d be a funny prank or something! Does it matter?” 

“How in the world would they manage that?” 

The book was then all but thrown onto the counter, and Luz flipped through the pages, looking for something - Anything - On Love Potions. Eda said the Boiling Isles leaked into the Human Realm, so it made sense Love Potions were one of those spillovers, right? If that were true, there would be something about them in this book, right? 

Except there wasn’t. 

Looking again and again - At the table of contents, at each individual page, and scanning the texts on the pages that sounded at least vaguely similar to something that might even resemble a Love Potion, Luz found nothing on them. Absolutely nothing whatsoever. 

That panic spread throughout Luz’s entire being. _There had to be something! There had to be!_

Amity wouldn’t do this as a joke! 

There was - 

An idea suddenly lit itself up in Luz’s head. 

Love Potions made people do weird things, right? That they wouldn’t do normally? Like lying or obfuscating or anything like that? Maybe she could counter that with something else? 

“I have an idea!” Luz said aloud, ducking under the counter again, throwing a batch of brewing ingredients she gathered into a giant cauldron, and began to brew… Something. Amity didn’t have even the faintest idea. “Just hold on, Amity! I think I have an idea!” 

For her part, Amity wasn’t even sure how to react to this entire situation. What was she even supposed to do here? She barely even knew what was happening to her, why she had been dragged here, or why Luz was so… Like this. Amity hadn’t ever seen her like this before. And she didn’t even have the first clue how she was supposed to interpret it. 

It was clear Luz was panicking, but where she had gotten the idea that this was some kind of Love Potion and the result of some prank… Was that all her feelings were worth to Luz? 

A prank? 

No. Luz wasn’t like that. That was probably the furthest thing from Luz that was imaginable. 

But she didn’t even know where Luz was going with any of this, or why she had even come to these conclusions. And she was moving at such a rapid speed, from one place to the other, that Amity didn’t even know when she was going to be able to get a word in edgeways. 

_Why was Luz even acting like this?_

_How had she even got such an idea in her head?_

_What was Amity even supposed to do or say here?_

“Alright, here!” 

Either those thoughts had gone through Amity’s mind incredibly slowly, or Luz had been incredibly quick with her Potion brewing. Or both. 

Luz already had a potion, white in colour, in a potion flask, which she was holding out for Amity to take. There was a look on her fact of expectation, and optimism, like she thought that this potion was going to be the solution to all of the problems here. 

Amity just looked at it for a moment. “What… Is it?” 

“It’s a Truth Potion!” 

“A Truth Potion?!” That almost felt like a slap across the face. “D-Do you think I’m lying here?” 

“Amity, I don’t know what’s happening here.” Luz told her. Luz’s face, Amity noticed, was riddled with anxiety. Did she actually believe what she was saying? “I - I - I don’t know, if it’s a potion or a spell or - Or - Or whatever! But I - I need to be sure that this isn’t what's happening! A - And I think if you take this -” She held up the potion as she spoke “-That I’ll be able to be sure if you are under some kind of influence!” 

There was just a bit about potions that Amity knew - Truth Potions weren’t able to force anyone to reveal truths, in that they couldn’t force anyone to speak. What they did was compel the person who took them to be honest when they spoke. If she took it, she wasn’t going to be forced to answer all manner of insane and intrusive questions if Luz decided to ask them. She could be silent if she so wanted. 

Why Luz thought that there was some influence - From Love Potions of all things - Was the answer here, Amity didn’t have a clue. But maybe if she took this, it would make Luz take her answers seriously? 

“...If I take this, are you going to actually… Address what I’ve said?” She asked, awkwardly taking hold of the Truth Potion. Of all the ways she had expected today to go, negotiating Luz actually taking her seriously hadn’t been one of them. 

For just a moment, Luz hesitated. Then she nodded her head rapidly. “O-Of course!”

“You promise?” 

“I promise!” 

With a sigh, Amity nodded, held her breath, and ingested the potion. She had expected it to taste Gods-awful, like most potions did when drunk. It actually wasn’t bad though. There was a sweet taste to it. That was… Different. 

Probably a Luz thing. It actually reminded her of some sort of Human fruit she had once shared with her - A cherry, if she remembered right? 

Once ingested, the potion took effect - Amity’s irises were made to brighten up slightly, a clear sign of Magic spreading throughout her system. The feeling it installed in her was difficult to explain; It was like all the internal barriers that a person put up, whenever they lied to hide secrets, to protect their emotional state, or when it was just easier to lie than to tell the truth, felt like they crumbled apart. Amity didn’t understand fully how it worked. She wasn’t in the Potion Track after all. 

She could already tell though, as a sort of gut feeling - If she opened her mouth, she was going to be about as honest as it got. 

“Okay!” Luz clapped her hands together and stood in front of Amity with a seriousness the Witch could have sworn was a first for her. Amity gulped, but she stood her ground. “Amity, is there even a chance that Edric and Emira or anyone or… Anything could have put a Love Potion into your water, and is there a way to fix it?” 

“No.” Amity’s answer was swift and immediate. “Not a chance.” 

“...No to the first part or the second part?” 

“Both.” 

That answer seemed to unsettle Luz somewhat. “You - You said that you left the flask alone for a while where your siblings could have gotten hold of it! Doesn’t that make it at least possible?” 

“No, Luz. It’s not possible at all.” Amity told her. “Because the plants needed to make Love Potions or any kind of infatuation spell went _extinct centuries ago._ I’ve been trying to tell you that since we got here.” 

Luz froze. Completely and totally for what felt like an eon for her. Extinct? That - that couldn’t be right. Amity said she…. 

Once she found her ability to move and speak again, Luz asked, very careful with her words, and overwhelmingly anxious at the answer. “A...And what about me? What… How do you… Feel about me?” 

A blush appeared on Amity’s face. The potion couldn’t force her to speak. She could have remained silent. 

She didn’t. “I… I already told you, Luz. I… Like you.” 

The beating in Luz’s chest made itself abundantly clear again. This time it was a lot louder, to the point Luz could heart it as though it were external to her. 

And the anxiety that she felt before was hitting her harder than it had before. 

Now she felt herself _shake._

_This wasn’t like Amity._

_Amity wouldn’t do this._

_This wasn’t -_

Turning back to the brewing cauldron, Luz rapidly began to throw whatever other ingredients seemed like they might lead to a decent outcome, and began to flip through the book. There had to be something - _Anything_ \- That would help! 

_Maybe if she just threw in what sounded good it would work?_

“Luz!” Amity yelled. “What are you doing now?!” 

“Just - Just hold on!” 

“Luz, you promised you’d actually address this!” There was a clear hurt in Amity’s voice that made a lump rise in Luz’s throat. “You promised, Luz!” 

Another potion was quickly brewed - And what it even was, Amity didn’t even dare to venture to guess. “Try this!” Luz encouraged, though she looked about as desperate for a solution as Amity felt for an answer. 

“I’m not drinking that!” 

“Amity, please - “ 

“Luz I’m fairly sure that will literally kill me!” 

It seemed like she’d suggested the potion in a panic - When Luz looked at it herself, she seemed to realize how bad of an idea it would be to have someone drink a potion that looked like that. 

An eye ended up opening up from inside the flask, and Luz responded by throwing it out the nearest open window. 

_Absolutely for the best that Amity didn’t drink that._

“There’s gotta be something..!” Luz was barely even trying to keep her voice to herself anymore. Amity heard it completely clearly. 

...That hurt. 

Was she seriously this… This desperate for a reason to dismiss her feelings? Amity knew Luz wasn’t like that, but…. 

...What other conclusion was there to come to? 

“...Luz, I…. If this is some sort of elaborate way for you to…” A lump hit her throat. “...For you to r….Reject me without making me feel bad, I would…” She swallowed. The lump made talking harder, and she could feel her eyes prickling. “...I’d prefer it if you were just - “ 

“No!” 

Of all the responses she had expected to get, ‘No’ hadn’t been one Amity had expected at this point. 

Luz had stopped her brewing for a moment, and was looking at Amity with… That look was hard to describe. She looked mortified at the mere suggestion. And Amity didn’t understand how. Given everything that had happened over the last while, what else was there to think? 

“No…” Luz said again, this time quieter… Sadder. “No… I… I wouldn’t do that to you, Amity. I couldn’t...” 

There was a pause. 

And then Luz’s eyes went wider as she realized exactly what she’d just said. 

“...What do you mean by that?” Amity asked. 

For a second, Luz turned back to her brewing cauldron, like she was going to go back to brewing another potion. But at the last moment before she grabbed anything, she stopped. She wouldn’t look at Amity though. 

But she didn’t say a word. 

“Luz. What do you mean, you couldn’t?” 

“...It’s you, Amity. Do… You have any idea how much you matter to me?” 

“...Right now?” Amity’s voice became softer. Far softer. There was a well of concern that was starting to form in Amity’s being at this point. “...I don’t.” 

The Human had been acting so… Atypically for her. It was such a weird juxtaposition of how Amity had always seen her. Luz was weird. She was eccentric. She was energetic and never seemed to know how to keep things to herself. But Luz was keeping things to herself now. 

And Amity didn’t know what to make of it. It felt like the first time in her life where she didn’t know where she stood with Luz. 

It almost looked like it hurt Luz to hear that. 

“You… You’ve been here for me.” She said, gently, quietly. “Since i got trapped here. You’ve been such an… Amazing friend. I never knew why you were so eager to… Give up your free time to be around me. To help me with Magic. To just… Be around me. I joked about it being my ‘Luz Charm’ but I… I never got how.” 

“...It’s because we’re friends, Luz. Because I - “ 

“Don’t.” 

“Don’t what?” 

“Say it’s because you like me.” 

“...Why are you so convinced this is…. Anything other than my actual feelings for you, Luz?” 

“ **_Because it’s you!_ **” 

With the loudness and way she had shouted it, one would have expected that when Luz turned around to face Amity, there would have been a face of bright red fury on the Humans face. 

But it was the opposite. 

She looked like she was on the verge of tears. 

Her fists were balled up into fists, and it was so clear that she was trying hard to even stay stood upright. Like she was trying to maintain whatever composure was even left of her. Like she was fighting to not give anything away, even when it was already obvious that she was hurting. 

...Why was she hurting though? 

Amity wanted nothing more than to just run over and hug her, but she knew if she did, Luz would push her off of her. All she could think to do was to continue to ask, “...What do you mean?” 

Luz flinched. She turned, and for a moment, Amity thought she was going to turn her back to her. But instead, Luz just leaned her front against the counter, putting the entire weight of her torso onto her arms, and she looked down at the counter. 

“...I’ve had people I liked before, Amity.” Luz admitted. “There were people back on Earth that I liked. Three people. They weren’t… Anything like you though. There were different reasons I liked them… Stupid reasons.” 

All Amity did was listen. 

“I… Had this idea for a while that if I just… Made some grand gesture like in Azura, that they’d like me too?... Didn’t work. I got rejected two times. Then there was this…. This third guy. But we didn’t ever talk. We just sorta… Knew each other existed I guess.” 

She hadn’t thought about this in years - Or, well, had tried not to. It happened…. Years ago. But it still bothered her. 

It still bothered her to her _core._

She didn’t even know why she was telling Amity this. It didn’t make any sense to… But right now, that didn’t matter.

“...He told me he liked me one day.” She carried on. “And I sort of… Froze. I.. Asked him if he was serious… And he asked if I thought he was.” She looked up, towards the furthest wall. “Turned out it was just some… Dare. Or a prank. One of the two, I - I don’t know…” 

“Luz…” 

“...When I got here, I…. I thought things might be different. There was Nevareth, but he ended up being a part of Adegast.” 

“W...Who?” 

“A demon.” It was a simple answer, and she really didn’t want to go much more in depth than that. “Before I met you. Like, the day after I got here…” Luz almost laughed. “That’s my track record, Amity. Two rejections, and two people who ended up tricking me, either because they got told to by their friends, or because they wanted to use me to get to Eda…” 

Finally, she looked at Amity. 

“...People… Don’t _like me_ like that, Amity.” 

Suddenly, it clicked for Amity what all of this was. Why Luz refused to take her at her word. 

“That’s… That’s not a _thing that happens.”_

It was because of those rejections in the past. Those people who tricked her for whatever either socially twisted or just plain twisted reasons they had. And she’d internalized that. 

She literally didn’t think she was capable of being liked like that. 

“I - I thought maybe at Hexside… Something would happen.” Luz carried on. “Maybe I’d meet someone and they’d... “ She trailed off. “But it… Never did. And that’s… Fine.” She’d fully bought into this idea that people weren’t capable of liking her. “I got used to the idea a while ago. It’s just… Not a thing that happens. Magic or no Magic. I made friends, and I...” 

Then she gulped. 

“...I met you.”

For the first time since this whole escapade started, Amity felt her heart skip a beat. 

“I… I met someone who… We had issues, when we first met, but we got past them, and you cared enough to change. You were there when I needed someone… Anyone. It was you that was there. Someone who was… Who…” Luz looked back at the counter again. “...Who made the thought of being trapped here forever… Not quite as horrible.” 

Under any other circumstance - Any other circumstance at all - That would have made Amity’s heart leap out of her chest. 

But under these… She couldn’t even think of what to say. 

“It’s because it’s you I can’t take this, Amity…” Luz forced out, turning back to the brewing cauldron, and grabbing the nearest ingredient and ladle she could. “I - I can’t _do this again_ with you, of all people! Not you! Not…. Not the person I like! Not the person who makes the idea of never going home again bearable! There - There has to be _something_ I can do to fix this! _Anything_!”

“...Are you afraid of me?” 

Luz’s movements just froze at that point. The ingredient and the utensil in her hands were frozen still. 

Then, her arms dropped, and they clattered onto the counter. 

There was something about that question - Something about how Amity asked it - Something about it coming from her - That just… Shattered what little delusion Luz had managed to put in front of herself was left. 

A Love Potion had never existed. And she knew that. And she’d always known that. 

But fighting an imagined foe was an easier prospect than dealing with this now. Amity had shattered that delusion though. 

Now the situation here and now was all that was left. 

And it was all that they could address. 

“...” Luz couldn’t bring herself to look at Amity. If she did, Amity would see that it was taking everything she had to not break down there and then. 

Everything she had kept hidden these last few months, she’d thrown out just now - And like this? Even if she had been convinced that she would have been rejected by her, Amity deserved… Such a better admission than what this had turned into. Shame washed over Luz’s entire soul. 

“I…” She tried to speak. “...I’m… Not afraid of you. You’re… The opposite of scary, Amity. It’s… The way you make me feel…. Terrifies me. Because… I don’t know what I’d do if - ” She gulped. “...If somehow it turned out after all of this… What you told me wasn’t real…” 

Terrified of the truth. 

Of rejection. 

Of repeating the mistake you made in the past. 

That was something she and Luz shared, Amity understood now. That was something that they had both been facing off against. Luz was just better at hiding it than she was.

_What could she offer?_

_What could she say?_

There wouldn’t have been much that could have reassured Amity before today, so what could she offer to Luz…

It came to her after just a few seconds. _Her eyes._

“Luz?” Amity spoke gently. “Look at me?” 

The Human hesitated for a moment, too nervous to just follow that request without pause for thought. Tentatively though, she did turn to look at the Witch behind her, after trying to compose herself as much as she could. 

She still looked a mess when she faced Amity though. 

“That Truth Potion is still in effect right?” Amity asked. “I can still feel it, but you can see my eyes, right? They’re still glowing?” 

It was still only a little, but yes. Amity’s golden eyes were still glowing just that little bit thanks to the potion. Luz nodded. 

If she couldn’t offer Luz anything else…. She could offer her her honesty. 

“Luz, if I… Had known about any of this, I would have… I don’t know. I would have tried to do this in a way that didn’t… Remind you of what happened to you before. I…” Amity paused. “...I don’t know what words I could say here that would make everything feel better. I’m not sure they exist… But… That letter I gave you?” 

Nestled within the pocket of Luz’s hoodie, the Human reached in and pulled it out, looking at the ‘To Luz’ writing on the front again. Like she was making sure she hadn’t misread it somehow. 

“I… Luz, I swear to you.” Amity’s voice became as serious as she was willing to let it go, while still being as gentle as she could manage. “Every word in there… I mean it. Every single word.” 

Then she offered a smile. 

“I don’t think I could ever lie to you about this.” 

Even hearing all of that, even knowing that Amity was telling the truth… The idea of opening the letter still scared Luz. What words were written on it? What would it mean when she finally opened it? 

She looked at Amity again. And Amity offered her another smile. The softest smile that she could. The most reassuring smile she could. 

So Luz swallowed. 

And opened the letter. 

And began to read.

 _Luz,_ _  
_ _If I had the words, or the confidence in my ability to say this out loud to you, I would. But I don’t think I do. I don’t trust myself to not mess it up. So please forgive me for telling you in this way.  
  
_ _Before you arrived here, I felt like I was just going through the motions. That I had hurt people, and that I would just have to live with that. That the people I now associated with were the people that I would have to, no matter my own personal fondness or lack thereof for them. That all I had to look forward to was going to class, getting good grades, going back home, and maybe losing myself in a book._ _  
_ _I didn’t have friends. Not ones I cared about. Not ones I even got to choose. One day, the Emperor's Coven would be where I ended up, and that maybe there I’d find some kind of purpose in my life. And I wanted to join the Coven, but sometimes it felt like it was the means to an end. Maybe that’s a dramatic way of saying it, but that’s how it felt a lot of the time._

_And then you arrived._

_I know that there was a lot of tension between us when we first met. And that I wasn’t the kindest person to you. But there was always something about you that sparked something in me. At first it was me being competitive and prideful. But I learned more about you, bit by bit. And I think I know what it was that compelled me to push myself against you._

_You’re honest. You’re authentic. Whenever something happens, you try to deal with it in the best way you can think to manage. You keep getting yourself into messes without thinking about yourself. You keep breaking traditions here. And you just embrace your weirdness._ _  
_ _So much of the time, I feel like everyone on the Isles is hiding something. I suppose the Conformitorium serves as a deterrent to acting out. But I never get that feeling of authenticity from anyone else. And for a long time, I didn’t feel it from myself either._

 _You changed that. And you made me want to change that about myself._ _  
_ _And we became friends. My first real friend in a long time. And before long, I felt closer to you than I did anyone else. When I’m around you, everything feels better. I feel like I can be myself, and I won’t be made fun of for it. I feel like I can just be that person that only you’ve got to see._ _  
_ _I feel happy when I’m with you._

 _I wanted to ask you to Grom._ _  
_ _And I’m sorry that I couldn’t ask you back then. I was afraid you would reject me - You already know that I suppose. You were there after all._ _  
_ _And these last few months. I know they’ve been a mixed bag for you. And I want you to know that no matter what you say next, I’m going to help you get the option to go home back if that’s what you want. But as selfish as it sounds, I’m glad that you’re still here. Because the Boiling Isles would be worse without you here. But I wanted to tell you this because I don’t think I can handle it anymore._

 _Luz._ _  
_ _It makes me happy to be around you, and when I’m around you, I get nervous and excited. I look forward to seeing you, talking with you, just being around you. You make me want to be better. You make me feel like I’m accepted. You make me feel like I matter._

_You’re sweet. You’re kind. You’re absurdly cute._

_And I like you._

_-Amity_

Luz closed the letter. She put it back into her hoodie pocket, and she looked at Amity. And Amity still had that smile on her lips. She didn’t seem all that nervous anymore. 

She already had her answer. Maybe that had helped. 

But for Luz to see all of that, and know that it was coming from someone who was being as honest as was physically possible… Her face was red, and her heart was pounding. 

The words though, they barely seemed willing to roll. 

“... S… Since Grom, huh?” 

“...Yeah.” 

“I er… I didn’t know…” 

A pause. 

“...You er, really needed to add that I was c… Cute at the end, huh?” 

“Well, I do still remember the otter costume.” 

It had been such a small joke in response to a few awkward statements that Luz didn’t know what she was doing with - But it was such a light moment of brevity that Luz couldn’t help but burst out laughing in response. 

_This whole situation was absurd!_

And it seemed like Amity agreed, because she began to laugh too - After all of that, that was where this conversation went? _The otter costume?!_

Amity hadn’t realized just how tense this whole situation had left her - It felt so insanely good to laugh after all of that - 

But after just a few seconds, she realized Luz wasn’t laughing anymore. 

Laughing seemed to have tipped off the edge of whatever remaining composure was left in her. 

Now she was crying. 

Tears running down her face, and her hands were trying to keep them in, but were failing miserably. Whatever strength was left in her was now gone, and she almost looked like she was going to collapse onto the ground right then and there. “Luz!” Moving quickly, Amity was able to catch the Human girl before she hit the ground, and was able to instead gently lower her to the ground so they were sitting on their knees. 

Luz clung onto her with both her hands, and Amity wrapped her up into a hug - that Human custom Luz seemed fond of - and Luz’s arms wrapped around her, and clung to her as absolutely tightly as she could manage. Sobs began to be released into Amity’s shoulder. 

“I’m sorry…! I’m sorry…!” What she was sorry for, Amity didn’t even know. 

Was she apologizing for not taking her seriously from the start? For not realizing her feelings back at Grom? For this entire affair? Or for something else? 

It didn’t matter, really. Amity still held her, and told her gently, “It’s okay… It’s okay…” 

Maybe it was even the relief that her fears were unfounded that made her cry. Maybe. Or maybe it was all the internalized grief she had been keeping locked up finally letting itself out. Maybe it was her realizing that she wasn’t some kind of unlovable creature. 

Amity didn’t know. She wouldn’t know until Luz had gotten all her crying off her chest. 

And until then, she would stay with Luz like this. She would hold her and stay there with her. And when she was done, she would stay there, and help Luz deal with whatever feelings of fear, of anxiety, or anything else, until she was the Luz she had fallen in love with. For as long as it took. 

Everything else could wait.

* * *

**Wow you people… Really liked the first part, huh. That was a surprise : D**

**SO - This story came out of a piece of art that I found and an animatic by Spatziline relating to Love Potions and the idea surrounding them, and me wanting to do a play on the “Luz is oblivious” trope - Because I dunno if I buy the idea she’s oblivious. I think she has some self confidence issues on account of being a complete loner for** **_14 years_ ** **. This also relates to me too - The whole ‘Getting a fake confession’ thing actually happened to me when I was 12, and kinda still bugs me nearly ten years later, so I suppose i was expelling some demons with this**

**I was also practicing getting a better handle on Luz, since she’s surprisingly difficult to write, while Amity is incredibly easy since I’m more akin to her in personality I suppose. I wanted to put her into a variety of emotional states so I could get a decent grip on her. I went pretty angsty with her here but I thought it kind of fit.**

**Certainly wasn’t your typical confession huh?**

**Please, let me know what you thought of this! I really hope it holds up compared to chapter one. I’m very open to critique or just talking in comments, and I ready every one that I get (Pretty sure that's because of OCD to be completely honest) And below will be some further reading and the art I used as inspiration for this fic**

**I also want to thank Todo (The comrade knows who he is, I have no idea if he has an account anywhere) and**[ **Raphael_Antonello**](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raphael_Antonello/pseuds/Raphael_Antonello) **on Ao3, both of whom helped beta read this and bounced ideas with me. Todo I’ve known for like a year now and Antonello just got in touch with me randomly, asked for my discord, and has been chatting and helping ever since, so thank you to them for putting up with my constant questioning!**

**Thank you all for reading and hopefully I’ll see you in whatever comes next - See ya!**   
  



	3. I Want

It wasn’t clear how long Luz had actually spent crying both her heart and eyes out. Amity hadn’t kept track, and neither had Luz. To both of them, time seemed to just melt into itself while sobs and tears escaped Luz, while Amity tried to do what little was possible for her to do to offer some kind of reassurance. Any kind really. All she could offer was her embrace, the only bit of physical comfort that she could think to offer her. 

To them, it felt like hours.

Amity had never heard anyone cry like Luz had. There was… So much... Maybe the best word to describe it was ‘visceral’. There weren’t a whole lot of other words that she could think of that were fitting. The grip that she had on Amity was tight, and her sobs were all but choked out. Her cries sounded raw after a while, like it hurt her throat to even keep crying, but she couldn’t stop.. She was shaking. 

The only word for all of that was… _Heartbreaking_.

Listening to it all was heartbreaking. 

Had she ever cried about this in the first place, or had she kept this all pent up ever since it happened? Let it eat away at her? Let it take an ugly form of its own, and mess with the way she saw herself? 

Somehow, Amity already knew it was the second option. 

If literally anyone had cried the way Luz had been, Amity would have done what she could do to help them in some way. Even if it had been a complete stranger. That was how bad it was. 

The fact that it was Luz just made it sting so much more. 

Because of everyone that Amity knew, Luz was always the brightest, the kindest, and the person with the biggest smile on their faces. The person who cared the most, who put themselves out there for others the most. 

She didn’t deserve to feel like this. And she certainly didn’t deserve the treatment that she had gotten back in her Realm. 

Eventually though, Luz seemed to be able to get it out of her system, somehow. There weren’t any more tears to cry. Her face was a mess, her eyes were red and swollen, and when she blinked, the stinging made her want to clamp them shut for the next twenty-four hours. Amity didn’t say a word about it. The only thing she did was go towards the counter, and got Luz a cloth and some water, and let her do whatever she needed to do with both. 

After that, she and Amity sat on the sofa in the living room, and after a gentle prompting, Luz began to tell Amity about her experiences in further detail. Amity only ever spoke when Luz stopped, letting her vent whatever she needed to vent. 

Whatever she needed. 

For as long as she needed. 

“...So then he just… Walked off. The next time I saw him, he just… Acted like nothing had happened. And I didn’t know what to do so I just…. Had to go along with it...” Luz had been able to get through the full recounting of the third time she experienced rejection, though it was a lot more difficult for her than the first two and the fourth one, but it clearly was the one that still affected her the most. “I just sorta had to pretend everything was fine.” 

“You couldn’t… Talk to anyone about it?” 

“I didn’t have anyone to talk about it with.” Luz told her, sighing. “...I don’t have friends back home. I’m too ‘weird’ for that.” She made little finger quotes at the word ‘weird’. “And I couldn’t tell my mom about it. I… I didn’t want to worry her with it. She was… Worried enough about me as it was. I couldn’t...” 

Somehow, Amity had always imagined that Luz had had plenty of friends back in the Human Realm. No end of people to talk to. It would have made sense. She just had that effect on people, especially here. Sometimes it took a bit, but Luz could talk to just about anyone. 

Hearing that it wasn’t the case, that she had been made to go through all of this on her own, not having anyone to talk to about it… 

For goodness sake, at _least_ Amity had Edric and Emira, even if she wanted to throw them out a window half the time. A lot of the time it didn’t feel like much, and not all that long ago they have been _beyond_ insufferable, but it was _something_. 

Luz didn’t even have _that._

“I just… I don’t get it.” Amity admitted. “You didn’t do anything to them, and they treated you like that… I don’t get why.” It was undeniable that there was a bit of hypocrisy to what she was saying, Amity felt - She’d spent a long time treating Willow in a similar way, but at least she had had a reason for it. 

Not a _good_ reason, and a reason she now struggled to believe and had done everything in her power to make up for, but at least that _had been a reason._

What _possible logic_ was there to messing with Luz’s feelings like that? What benefit or justification was there? It just made the Witch feel both immense empathy for Luz, and vehement fury towards whoever had treated her that way. 

_If the opportunity ever somehow presented itself..._

For her part though, Luz just sighed again, and looked towards the floor. “...I wish I knew, Amity.” 

It wasn’t any wonder that Luz was so protective of her friends on the Boiling Isles, Amity through. They were really the only people who had ever shown Luz this sort of kindness back. It stood to reason that she would value them the way she did - Heck, being shown that sort of kindness had put Amity down the path of falling for Luz.

Now that she thought about it though, the fact Luz could still be so kind and good to the people around her after how she had been treated by others in the past was… Incredible. It made sense how it had affected her now that she knew the extent of it, but it still amazed Amity that Luz found it in herself to be just so… _Good_ to people. How easy it would have been to shut herself away and to not deal with the rest of the world again. 

And yet she didn’t. She kept on being the best sort of person. 

Luz really was everything Amity wished she was. 

“...You’re a better person than I am, Luz.” Amity admitted out loud. “I don’t think I could be like you if all that happened to me.”

Looking at her, Luz asked, “Like what?” 

“Nice to people.” 

At first, the answer seemed to surprise Luz. All she did was blink in response. 

Then it seemed like a blush spread across her face, and an awkward smile made its way onto her lips. “You’re nice, Amity.” 

“Because you made me want to be.” 

“You were always nice. I still remember you reading to those kids in the library.” Luz reminded her. “Those kids liked you. Kids don’t just like a person because they read them stories.” 

This time, Amity blushed, but she quickly shook her head. “This - We’re talking about you here, Luz. Not me.” 

“...Sorry.” Luz nodded, her head facing forwards again. Her expression turned apologetic, and guilt quickly hit Amity. Her rebuke hadn’t even been in the least bit harsh, but as she was, Luz wouldn’t be able to tell right now. 

“No, don’t - Don’t apologize. I didn’t mean to come off like that.” Amity apologized, quickly. “I’m sorry…. I just…” Her hand reached out, and it gently took Luz’s hand into hers. There wasn’t any resistance whatsoever from the Human girl. “...I wish you saw yourself how I see you.” 

Luz’s irises and pupils looked in Amity’s direction, though her head didn’t turn at all. A weak smile formed onto her lips again. It didn’t _look_ forced, but Amity struggled to tell. It was clear that even in spite of the Truth Potion, and the letter, and everything else, that Luz was still struggling to get her head around everything. About Amity liking her. About how she described her. How she saw her. It would take time for it to set in, and Amity understood that. But...

_She missed Luz’s wide, great big smiles._

“...I er…” She started. “...Luz, I… I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that.” She paused, but no follow up came. “...I don’t know what else to say to be honest.” She admitted. “I just… You don’t deserve the way you were treated. You deserve better. I...” 

Her other hand reached out, and took hold of Luz’s other hand, so she was holding one hand in each of hers. The action made Luz look towards Amity, allowing their eyes to meet. 

“...I won’t treat you like that.” Amity told her. “I - I don’t know if it’s… Right for me to say that after everything you just told me, but… I just want you to know that. You don’t need to be afraid of me. If you just want to talk about it again, or if you… Need anything, I won’t turn you away. I won’t make fun of you. I won’t… I won’t let you feel like that again.” 

Hugs were still a fairly odd concept to Amity - It was one of those things Luz had brought over from the Human world - But they were something Luz adored, and were something Amity was starting to think her own life was going to require plenty of in the future. That being the case, she pulled Luz into a hug again, though Luz was limp to it at first. 

“...I promise.” 

A few seconds passed, and then Luz returned the hug, resting her head against Amity’s shoulder again. This time, there wasn’t any crying, though she did bury herself against the Witch’s shoulder, finding it both warm and comfortable. 

The entire hug brought her… A comfort that she had desperately needed after letting everything out like she had. 

They both remained like that for a few seconds, before Luz uttered, quietly, the words, “...Thank you.” A few seconds passed. For letting her vent. For being patient with her. For letting her get all this off her chest. For being with her while she cried. For offering to be there further. For… Everything. But all that got lost in Luz’s throat, and all that came out was, “...For all of this.” 

Amity understood what she was going for though, and just nodded her head. She knew that this wasn’t done though. It would take more than just one venting session for Luz to come to terms with everything. It would take a lot longer than that. But she’d be there if Luz wanted her there. 

“...I can come back tomorrow, if you want.” She offered. “We can talk more about this then, if you want to. Or we can… Do whatever.” Whatever would make her the most comfortable, and help her deal with this. 

“...Yes, please.” Luz muttered into Amity’s shoulder. It was all she said. 

That was that decided then, Amity thought to herself. She’d come back tomorrow, if for no other reason than to keep Luz company, and to help her through any thoughts that she might end up having. And she would make the same offer tomorrow too. And the day after. As long as Luz needed it before they... Did anything… Date-y… 

...They hadn’t actually discussed that, had they? It just sort of dawned on Amity for the first real time that Luz had actually returned her feelings. It had been somewhat lost to the wayside in the face of everything else. But Luz liked her. _Liked her_ liked her. A blush spread across Amity’s cheeks, though she felt a bit guilty for thinking about that right now. Especially while Luz was like this.

But then again, could they really _not_ talk about it? That was important, wasn’t it? 

Wasn’t it?

Where did they go from here? Where was it… _Right_ to go from here? Even if they were under the best circumstances possible, Amity wouldn’t know where they went from here. With all of this? She didn’t know.

“Er… Luz?” She asked, tepidly. “Do… Do you -” 

“ _Well_ \- “ Suddenly, the door of the Owl House flung open, making both girls jolt and turn to face it. In the doorframe stood Eda, King stood closely behind her, and both of them drenched in mud. 

Stepping into the building, Eda pulled something from inside her hair - Some sort of collection of planets or something, placed into some kind of container - And unceremoniously threw it onto the floor. It was in this motion that Amity and Luz both realized the older Witch’s eyes were sealed, both also covered in mud, in spite of marks indicating she had tried to get it out of her eyes several times before, but more run down from her hair.

“ - That could have gone _infinitely better.”_

The closest thing to what could be considered a growl emerged from King while he was wiping mud away from his eyes. “I will have my revenge on you, Plant Demon! Just you wait!” 

Eda wiped the mud from her eyes again, and took a look at the interior of her house. 

Then realized what a mess it was in. 

Amity nor Luz had made even the slightest effort to clear up the brewing section of the counter. It was still just a clustered unkempt mess. The cauldron was still bordering onto overflowing. Luz’s emotional state had taken precedence over everything else. 

“What in the - “ Eda looked around, and for the first time since entering the building, actually saw Luz and Amity sitting there on the sofa, looking at her, and made her way towards them. “Alright, what in the heck have you - “ she stopped in her tracks suddenly, and just sort of… Stared at the Human. Her expression softened. “What er, what’s wrong with you, kid?” 

Luz’s face certainly wasn’t exactly giving an expression of being remotely okay - Still red, still swollen, and marks down her face where tears had fallen. Quickly, Luz hid her face behind her now pulled up hoodie and arms - This wasn’t a line of inquiry she wanted to entertain. 

King perked up, and quickly made his way towards Luz. “What's wrong, Luz?” When Luz didn’t look at him either, King turned his attention towards Amity. “Alright, I dunno what you did to Luz, but I’m gonna show you what happens when you mess with my buddy!” 

“I - I didn’t do anything!” Amity protested, though that didn’t feel entirely true. “I - I mean - “ Briefly, she glanced at Luz. the other girl was peeking at her from the little hidey-hole she had made with her arms. She got the message. “I - I was helping Luz with making Potions and we - We must have gotten the ingredients wrong! It blew up in Luz’s face and I’ve just been trying to help soothe it!” 

That was technically only a half lie. 

Making her way towards the counter, Eda picked up several of the ingredients in her hands, and raised an eyebrow at the mixture in her cauldron. She then looked at Amity. “Must have? I wouldn’t even use this on the Emperor’s Coven… Actually, now that I think about it…” 

“A - Amity didn’t do anything!” Luz said, standing up. “I - It was me who messed with the brewing stand! Amity was… Just trying to help.” 

The older Witch looked unconvinced of their story, but she shrugged, and dropped the ingredients back on the counter. “Alright kid, if you don’t wanna tell me that’s fine. That's your business. But you know you’re cleaning this up later, right?”

Concern was visible on Eda’s face, but it looked like she thought better than to pry. Maybe she had been mad a minute ago, but it looked like she was now just more worried about her apprentice than anything, but didn’t want to intrude on her private life either. 

It was something Amity had grown to respect Eda for over the last few months. 

Nodding, Luz’s face relaxed slightly. She would tell Eda the truth, eventually… Just not today. She’d done that enough today. 

For his part, King just pointed at his eyes, and then towards Amity. That… Was about as close to an apology from him as she was going to get. Not without Luz telling him what exactly was going on, anyway. 

“In any case.” Eda said, jabbing her thumb towards the door she just entered from. “You’re gonna wanna head back home, Green Top. Unless you feel like going through town at night.” 

Both Amity and Luz blinked and looked at one another, before looking out the nearest window - When they entered the building, it had to have been at about noonish. Now it was well beyond that - The sun was starting to set, and the sky was an orange colour. They had been here for hours now. 

“Oh, yeah.” Amity nodded, agreeing. “I should… Probably go…” Her gaze fell towards Luz. She really didn’t want to leave Luz’s side. Not after all that. 

Quickly though, Luz piped up. “I - I’ll go with you. M - Make sure you get there safe! Aha, yep! That - That's what we’ll do!” 

Eda blinked. “I was gonna ask if she wanted a ride with Owl-” 

Luz grabbed hold of Amity’s hand and practically pulled her out of the building. “Wow we had better get moving huh okay Eda and King see you later byeee!!” And shut the door behind her. 

“...Bert.” The older Witch finished, sharing a shrug with King. 

On the other side of the door, both Amity and Luz let out a sigh at the same time as one another. Amity understood Luz’s hesitation to be up front with Eda about this right now. And Luz was grateful that the other girl had played along. 

“...Thanks.” She said, quietly. “I - I didn’t wanna do all that again.” 

Amity just offered her a small smile. “O-Of course… I understand.” 

For about thirty seconds, neither of them moved. And then Luz sighed. 

“I… I guess we should get going.” 

“...Right.” 

“...Oh, wait!” Quickly, the Human girl turned around. “Hooty?” 

“Hello! _Hooty hoot!”_ The House Demon extended its neck out of it’s perch slightly

Blinking, Amity realized that she had completely forgotten about Hooty for the last few hours. They had been literally leaning against his door frame and she hadn’t even considered him, 

“Hey, I’m uh… Sorry for… Kicking you earlier.” Luz apologized, awkwardly. “And for… Being really rude to you and everything. I - I didn’t mean it.” 

“ _Awwwww_ , it’s okay, hoot! Things sounded bad in there! I know you wouldn’t ever hurt Hooty unless you had a reason to! _Hoot_!” 

“ _Debatable_.” Amity muttered under her breath. At least, it was debatable for her. 

Luz just smiled, and hugged the House Demons neck with her free hand. “You’re an angel, Hooty.” 

“I’m an Owl! _Hoot_!” 

That just made Luz giggle lightly. “That too.” She turned back to Amity. “Okay, let’s go.” 

And off they went. 

Their hands still joined.

* * *

Everything felt far more… Still as Amity and Luz made their way back down the path they had taken to get to the Owl House, and back to their Grom tree. The path was quiet, still. Like nothing was there. Not even any wildlife that would otherwise be at the very least keeping an eye on them. 

Perhaps it was because Luz wasn’t in a mad rush while she dragged Amity to the lonely house in the woods. Perhaps it was because they were walking in relative silence. Or perhaps it was because as the day turned into evening, a lot of the more active critters had decided to retire for the day. Maybe it was a mixture of all of those things, but either way, things were… Still. Calm. 

And for Luz, maybe that was what she needed. 

Neither Amity or Luz had said a word to one another since they left the Owl House, walking side by side, still hand in hand, in a comfortable, but still slightly awkward silence. They didn’t need to talk to one another. It didn’t feel like anything urgently needed to be said. After everything that had happened today, just being… Still was all that the two of them really felt like being right now. 

Luz just enjoyed the fact that she was with Amity. That she was able to hold her hand. That she could… 

...Trust Amity. 

None of today had gone the way she had expected. When she got home, she was probably going to immediately clean up the mess by the counter, and then collapse on the spot and not budge until morning. She was tired, and she knew that once Amity was gone, she was going to instantly want to go to sleep. But right now she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to just… Be around Amity. 

Even though soon, they’d have to say goodbye. At least until tomorrow. 

She looked towards Amity from the corner of her eye. Amity had her thinking expression on her face, and Luz wished she knew what was on her mind. In all likelihood, she was probably thinking about everything she had been told today. Her eyes drifted towards their held hands. 

...Maybe she was thinking about that. 

When her eyes trailed back up, they were met by Amity looking back at her from the corner of her own eyes. A small smile was on her lips - It sent a jolt through Luz’s being, and made her snap her eyes forward, an awkward smile spreading across her own lips without her permission. 

Amity… _Liked_ her. Just thinking about that was still making Luz feel a bit dizzy. Like it wasn’t quite real. Even with everything that she had done to prove that it was true...

...What… Came next? 

“Something on your mind?” Almost like she had read the Humans mind, Amity inquired. Her voice was so soft and gentle that for some reason, Luz’s mind immediately wondered what it would be like to fall asleep to it. 

“No - Yes - I - “ Luz tried to speak, but ended up tripping over her words. She felt herself blush, take a deep breath, and try again. “I was just…” She paused. “...Amity, what… Are we?” 

Blinking, Amity turned to look at her more directly. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean…” Awkwardly, Luz squeezed Amity’s hand gently, which made the other girl look down at their joined hands, like it reminded her that they were joined in the first place. “...I like you… Y - You like me…” She said, her voice wavering slightly as to how surreal it felt to say. “...S - So… What… Are we?” 

For a moment, Amity seemed to contemplate the question. In truth, she didn’t know what they were any more than Luz did, and was honestly surprised that Luz was even preoccupied with the thought. So much else had happened….

She had been hesitant to bring it up herself, but if Luz was going to… 

“...What do you want us to be?” She asked. Amity knew what she wanted them to be, but she wasn’t going to push this any further than Luz wanted it to be pushed.

Pushing her when she had just had such an emotional breakdown… It wouldn’t be right. And Amity wouldn’t forgive herself if Luz did anything because she felt pressured, or even slightly influenced. Maybe given how Luz’s history of rejections had played out, it would have made more sense for Amity to take the initiative, but… She wanted whatever choice Luz made to be the one she wanted to make. 

The question flustered the Human girl, making her fix her eyes onto the path they walked. Her face was red, and for a while she didn’t say anything. Interestingly though, she didn’t let go of Amity’s hand - If anything, she held onto it tighter. 

What Luz wanted them to be… There wasn’t any question about that. She knew what she wanted. 

But to admit it out loud…

“...We don’t have to rush things, you know.” Amity suddenly told her. Luz turned to her, and saw her smiling gently at her. “We can figure things out on our own terms, and when we’re.... Comfortable. We don’t have to do this right away if you don’t want to.” 

Luz nodded. And returned her attention to the path. It had been meant to be a way to give her an out so she didn’t feel too awkward but… 

Somehow Amity had the feeling that she’d made things… More confusing for the other girl. 

Once more, the two of them returned to silence. It was still comfortable, all awkwardness and uncertainty between the two of them aside. Both of them would steal glances at the other when said other wasn’t looking. Really, it was just the uncertainty of where the two of them stood that prevented the walk from being absolutely blissful. 

Both of them knew to a degree that it was pedantic - They had told one another they liked each other, promised that they would see one another tomorrow, and were holding hands as they walked on the way to Amity’s house. 

Really, it would just be one of them actually outright saying it that would seal it, but their own personal reasons stopped them. But there was comfort either way in that contradiction. It was odd. 

Neither felt real anxiety. Certainly not like earlier in the day. It was… Different. Harder to explain. 

And neither felt the need to explain it either. It made sense in a way that only made sense to them, and they were fine with that. 

As they walked down the path, they eventually returned to the Grom Tree, where today's eventful mess had begun. Both Amity and Luz’s walking speed began to slow down as they approached the tree, both in appreciation of the huge tree, and in the memories of what had started this emotional rollercoaster of an afternoon. Both stood over the cliff, and watched the purple sea send in small wave after wave to crash against the cliffside below them. It was a calm sea, and a calm evening. The sun was setting behind the Boiling Sea. 

It was picturesque. 

For just a few minutes, they both stood there, wordlessly. Watching the scene before them. For Luz, it was almost bizarre - The Boiling Isles was a Realm that seemed to be nothing but horrifying to her. And now here she was, with the girl she liked, watching a sunset that looked like it came out of a movie. 

She could have stayed in that moment forever. 

“...We should split up now.” 

Amity’s voice was heavy, and was accompanied by a sigh. Clearly it wasn't an option that she was particularly enthusiastic about. 

But that raised the question of why she had suggested it in that case. 

“H - Huh? What d’you mean?” Luz asked. 

The Witch nodded back down the path they had gone. “You should… Go back to the Owl House. Before it gets dark.” 

“I - I thought I was going to walk with you back to your place…” 

Luz suddenly blushed when she said that out loud - That hadn’t _technically_ been discussed or agreed on, or even really remotely implied for that matter. She’d just sort of assumed that that was what was going to happen. It had been an excuse to get out of the Owl House - Not an actual plan of action. 

The truth was, she wanted to be around Amity. For as long as she conceivably could. She didn’t mind walking through the Boiling Isles in the middle of the night if it meant she got to spend an hour more with the other girl. After today, just being in her presence gave Luz a feeling of comfort. 

A red tint coloured Amity’s cheeks too, and she let out another exhale, this time through her nose, and she had a smile on her lips as she did so. “I’d… Like that too, Luz. But…” She scratched behind her ear, and looked Luz in the eyes. “...I don’t… Think it’s a good idea for you to be going around at night in the state you’re in. It’ll be dark by the time I get back to my place, and we don’t have any way for Eda to come and pick you up. I just - I don’t want you to get mugged or attacked by a swarm of Motus-Bats or… Anything like that.” 

There was sense to Amity’s logic, Luz couldn’t really argue it. She was still a mess, and she wasn’t exactly super alert right now. Used to the Boiling Isles or not, if you weren’t on guard, something could still get the drop on you. 

In her current state, she would be easy pickings. Amity was motivated by a desire to make sure she wasn’t going to get hurt, and Luz recognized that. 

Finally, she nodded, slowly. Just because she understood it, it didn’t mean she had to like it. 

“...I’ll call you when I get home, okay?” Amity offered. “And we’ll see each other tomorrow.” 

“Right…” Luz kept nodding. Luz wanted to be near Amity. _What she wanted..._

The Witch took her hand back from Luz, and Luz instantly missed the soft feeling of warmth from her hand. For a second, Amity’s gaze lingered on Luz too, before she pulled the other girl into another hug. It was brief, but it was the very definition of comfort. 

_Luz wanted…_

“..Take care on the way back.” Amity said, smiling gently, but also sadly. She didn’t want to leave any more than Luz wanted to, but in her head, she knew it was the best thing to do. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” 

And with that, Amity began to walk away. 

Only for Luz’s hand to grab hers, stopping her. 

“... _Wait_.” 

When Amity turned back towards Luz, she saw Luz, her face red, but with what looked like a cross between awkwardness and determination on her face and making up her expression. 

“...I… I wanna kiss you. C - Can I kiss you?” 

For just a moment, Amity’s brain didn’t actually comprehend what had just been said to her. Then all at once, the realization hit her, and her face exploded into a bright red crimson. Her heart began to beat so loud she was all but certain that Luz could hear it too, and her hand felt _unbelievably_ sweaty. 

It had come so out of nowhere that Amity barely even knew how to react. Luz wanted to _kiss her?_

She had to stop herself from just blurting out ‘Yes’ without thinking. Because if the circumstances were different, she would have _literally leaped_ at this opportunity. 

But these were the circumstances that they were in. And Amity was hesitant. 

“...Y - You don’t have to.” Luz told her, awkwardly looking away from her. “You don’t have to just… Stare at me…” 

She had been staring? 

How long had she just been staring at Luz without saying a _word_? 

Quickly, she shook her head. “N - No, it’s - It’s not that I don’t… Want to.” She admitted, feeling her face get hotter with each word. “I - It’s just…” She trailed off. 

“...Just?” 

“...Today’s been eventful for you.” Amity explained, careful with her words. “For… Both of us. And I just… I - I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Between the abject horror Luz felt at the prospect of being told she was liked, to her breakdown, and telling Amity about the horrible way she had been treated in the past - It was possible - So very possible - That Luz was looking for some sort of feeling of physical comfort. 

The prospect of taking advantage of that, while Luz wasn’t certain of anything, and letting Luz just throw herself at her - 

It wouldn’t be right. As much as Amity herself wanted to kiss Luz too - So badly at this point it almost physically hurt her - She wanted Luz to be sure. 

She didn’t want to be responsible for any regrets that Luz might have later. 

“I...If we k - kissed and you weren’t sure… I - I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself. I - I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do… I don’t want you to regret that because of me...” 

“...Now I just wanna kiss you more.” Luz said, frankly. 

“H - Huh?” Amity blinked. Not… Quite the response she had been expecting. 

“Amity, I… I trust you.” The Human girl took a step closer to Amity, and intertwined the fingers of their held hands. “...And I’m sure about this. I’ve been sure for a - A really long time… And…” She gulped lightly as she chose her words. “...And you being that concerned about this… I… I’m making the right choice in trusting you. I - I know I am.”

Not just a step, but a leap outside the zone of denial she had built for herself. Luz was willing to take that leap outside that zone because she trusted Amity that much. 

Luz smiled gently, awkwardly, _adorably_. “You promised you wouldn’t treat me like the others did… I believe you. I’m certain… And I trust you.” 

“...Okay.” 

“O - Okay?” 

“Okay.” Amity nodded, confirming her statement. She couldn’t argue with that. “I - If you feel that way and you’re sure…” 

In spite of burning cheeks, burning ears, and burning everything, Amity let her eyes close, and just stood there, and waited, allowing Luz to kiss her. 

For her part, Luz felt her heart rate skyrocket. She put her free hand on Amity’s shoulder, closer her eyes… And leaned in… 

…

...And then froze up. 

Roughly ten seconds after closing her own eyes, Amity peeked one of hers open, to see Luz with her own eyes closed, frozen in place - Nerves having gotten the best of her. But she wasn’t backing down either - So she just stood there, lips puckered, but not making any effort to move at all out of anxiety. 

Perhaps even more amusingly, she had closed her eyes before she was even certain where her lips were going to hit - Had she actually taken the plunge and leaned in for the kiss, she would have kissed the young Witch’s chin as opposed to her lips. She was facing _slightly down, for Titans sake!_

_Good Gods, Luz was adorable._

Amity couldn’t stop herself from smiling. And suddenly, she found her own nervousness vanish. Whatever doubts had been left in her mind left her too. It was like everything clicked for her. That Luz really was doing this of her own accord. 

_She just needed a little… Help._

Reaching out, Amity gently tucked her thumb underneath Luz’s chin, and tilted it up ever so gently. When she felt Amity’s thumb contacting her skin, Luz’s eyes shot wide open, but she didn’t resist Amity’s correctional adjustments in even the slightest of ways. Like she was putty in Amity’s hands. 

Their eyes met again. 

Once she had adjusted her gaze, Amity cupped Luz’s cheek with the hand she had used. She then took a moment to look into Luz’s eyes. Take a second to appreciate them. They were beautiful. Amity had always thought so. 

It was amazing how little she was nervous now. This would be her first kiss, but she didn’t feel any anxiety at all. 

Everything that was happening now was the most natural thing in the world for her. 

_She liked Luz so, so much._

And then, she closed the gap, closed her eyes, and finally pressed her lips against Luz’s. 

Even though she knew it was coming, Luz’s eyes still shot open when Amity kissed her, and the biggest jolt she’d ever felt in her life shot throughout her whole body. And then, it all settled down. And Luz was able to let herself relax, her own eyes shut, and she returned the kiss. 

All in all, it only lasted between twelve and fifteen seconds - Neither of them bothered to keep a particular count. Once they separated though, both of them felt out of breath, their faces red, and their hearts racing at what had just happened. 

_“I… Oh… Wow…”_ Luz muttered, before she practically fell into Amity, and the other girl had to hold her up to stop her from slumping onto the floor. “That… Wow…” 

_There was a happiness in Luz’s very soul that she had never felt before in her life._

“A - Are you alright?” Amity finally asked, growing concerned about the other girl. 

“Oh I’m… I’m fine.” Luz nodded. When she looked at Amity, a smile formed on her face without her even thinking about it. “Hey… Do you remember when you asked what I wanted us to be?” 

“Y - Yeah?” 

“I want us to be girlfriends.” It came out so much easier than Luz had thought it would. It came out so easily, it made her laugh. 

For just a second, Amity was taken aback. And after that second passed, she smiled and laughed too. Her forehead rested against Luz’s, and she said, “Me too.” 

Today had been far from perfect. In some ways even, it had been one of the worst days Luz could remember. Even worse than being rejected or toyed with back on Earth, because all of this had happened in front of a person she had grown to like so, so much, and had had to go through so much of what made her life back on Earth so… Empty and alone. 

But in so many other ways, it was the single best day in her whole life. Not just because she knew Amity liked her back. Not just because they were now girlfriends. Not just because she had had the most life-inducing first kiss of - She was fairly sure - Any Human being who had ever lived. 

But because this was the first time Luz had felt _loved like that._ By Amity, of all people. 

And it made her, so, so, _so_ happy to be here.

* * *

**Alright you bastards you wore me down. You wanted fluff, fine - I hope I gave you all diabetes.**

**In all seriousness, the response to this story was absolutely incredible - I really didn’t expect it to get the response that it did but you all seemed to adore this story, and a lot of you wanted a third and final chapter, and I thought that and ya’ll wore me down - So here it is!**

**I really hope this was as good as the other chapters, and that this gives you all the satisfying ending that you were after.** **I certainly had a lot of fun writing it out. Luz deserves all the love in the world, the precious baby. It felt kinda good to give her that. Amity is equally precious. I like to imagine that when they get together, their dynamic sort of flips?**

**ALRIGHT - For real this time - I hope you enjoyed, and I’ll see you in whatever comes next - See you!**

* * *

**_Further Reading from me if you're interested:_ **

[**Beautiful Cruelty** ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109724) **\- A story that focuses on Amity figuring out the extent of her feelings for Luz, and the ways that Luz remaining unaware of her feelings towards her seem almost cruel (Themes of anxiety and what it means to be cruel)**

[ **I Don’t Get Her** ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24077788) **\- A oneshot which takes place after Lost in Language, and as a spiritual prequal to Beautiful Cruelty - Where Amity vents her many conflicting feelings towards Luz in her diary, and how literally nothing about her makes any kind of sense**

**[A Valeween Night To Remember](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153874) \- A collaborative project between myself and Rapheal_Antonello - A Force of Nature known as Valeween hits the Boiling Isles, in which the arrival of creatures known as Cherubim, with the ability to force those they attack to be unflinchingly honest to those they se, forces the Isles to band together to prevent the entirety of the Isles from being thrown into chaos - And it’s an event Amity despises like none other, for reasons Luz doesn’t understand.**

**_Inspirations_ **

**[Spatziline Animatic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYZzlrGJWNE) / ** [ **Love Potion Art** ](https://peachyparu.tumblr.com/post/627166778723909632/whos-gonna-tell-luz-theres-no-love-spells-in-the)

_**Social Media** _

**[Fandom Twitter - Where I reblog art and post fics](https://twitter.com/FandomQuartz) / [Main Twitter](https://twitter.com/QuirkQuartz) / [Tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/quirkquartz)**

**Youtube**

[ **Rejecting Social Norms, Rejecting Authority, and Intersectionality - The Owl House** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m_LAEdZTcM&ab_channel=QuirkQuartz)


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